PHOTOS: Seafair Parade of Ships from USS Bonhomme Richard

From top clockwise, sailors man the rails during the Seafair Parade of Ships on Wednesday along the Seattle waterfront. Members of the military are sworn in as U.S. citizens during a naturalization ceremony. The USS Sampson is trailed by the USS Chaffee. (Photos by Joshua Trujillo, seattlepi.com)

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Wednesday a parade of U.S. Navy, Coast Guard and Canadian Navy ships pulled into downtown Seattle. Sailors manned the rails of the massive military ships as they passed the brass and dignitaries gathered at Pier 66.

Aircraft flew overhead as the vessels made an impressive entrance into Elliott Bay.

The lead ship, the USS Bonhomme Richard, is an amphibious assault ship used by the Navy that can deploy and land Marines. The Bonhomme Richard is 844 feet long and has a crew of 1,108. It also can transport 1,894 Marines.

Also aboard the Bonhomme Richard were 21 members of the Army, Navy and Air Force who were sworn in as U.S. citizens during a naturalization ceremony. The military members granted citizenship Wednesday aboard the ship were from the Philippines, Micronesia, Vietnam, Chile, Cameroon, El Salvador, Ecuador, China, Kazakhstan, India, Israel, Panama, Guyana, Jamaica, Burkina Faso and American Samoa.

More than 5,000 sailors were granted shore leave from their homes on the water, so expect to see plenty of sailors around town this week.

Tours of the ships are available as part of the Seafair festivities. For more information on tours go to the Seafair website.